FIREFIGHTERS broke in to an derelict Harrow pub to tackle a fire that broke out on Sunday evening.

The blaze started at 7.30pm at the two-storey vacant Boxtree Pub in Boxtree Lane and quelled by firefighters from Harrow Fire Station's red watch.

A firefighter who did not wish to be named said: "It was already alight. There was smoke issuing from the pub itself and it was boarded up with security shutters on the outside so we broke in and put it out.

"We knocked down the fire and looked for hotspots and bits of embers in the woodwork.

"The pub was obviously smoke damaged throughout the whole building but as for fire damage, probably a quarter of the ground floor was affected."

The seat of the fire was in the lounge area of the premises and the cause is being probed by London Fire Brigade's fire investigation unit.